


social standards

by amuk



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Missing Scene, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28516185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk
Summary: Iskander was never one to follow norms, whether it was food or clothing or even just obeying his Master. So Waver shouldn’t have been surprised that their visit to the game store wasn’t any different.
Relationships: Iskandar | Rider/Waver Velvet
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	social standards

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Iskander/Waver, slice of life, domestic  
> For the Fate Exchange, for t1mco! I love these two and hope you like the fic!

There were certain communal standards in life. Despite not being a very social person, even Waver understood that much. He got up when an old lady got on the bus, he held the door for whoever came after him, and if there was a line, he stood at the back of it like any other decently raised human being.

“Why would we wait?” Iskander asked, his thick brow furrowing with confusion as they stood near the back of the game store building.

Unfortunately, Waver wasn’t dealing with a decently raised human, he was dealing with a Servant. A Servant who never obeyed like a servant, but instead ruled over his master and everyone else like he was still King, like they were in Macedonia and he was still conquering the world. As usual, he was wearing a ridiculous, utterly trashy game t-shirt. They had too many freebies like that these days; once Iskander had discovered the world of pre-orders, Waver started counting his savings by whatever spare coins he happened to have.

Rubbing his forehead, Waver gestured at the line that wound around the corner ahead of them. “We have to wait for our turn.”

“Our turn is now.” Iskander snorted, amused. He always sounded like that whenever Waver mentioned a rule, as though it meant nothing to him. Maybe it didn’t—he was a Servant, after all. Anything he did would just end up as Waver’s problem. It always did. 

“It isn’t.” Waver could just feel a headache coming. No matter how he pressed his fingers into his skull, the dull ache only grew. The sun didn’t help; it was an utterly hot day and sweat beaded on his skin. “The person at the front of the line can go in. They waited all night for this.”

“And I waited all week.” Iskander laughed, patting Waver on the back. It was a sign something terrible was about to happen.

“You didn’t wait out here all week,” Waver replied as patiently as he could. “You just learned about the game last week.”

Iskander wasn’t listening already. “We just need to stand at the front of the line.”

He nodded. “Yes—no!”

It was too late. Iskander, in all his ridiculously tall height, left their spot, walked around the corner, and disappeared. Waver groaned before jogging after him. He should be surprised by now. It happened every time.

He was just never ready for it, somehow.

As he turned the corner, Waver spotted Iskander stepping in front of the head of a line, an exhausted teen who was blearily looking at his phone.

“You can’t do that,” he protested, looking up. The bags under his eyes were almost black and Waver hoped that was only from this one-night wait and not doing this every day.

“I can’t?” Iskander raised a brow.

The teen squeaked, finally realizing just who stood in front of him. As a foreigner, Iskander already had an imposing air with his fiery red hair and chiseled face. Add in his overly bulky frame and his monstrous height? There was no one in Japan who could face him without cowering.

Well, maybe the military or some hotshot punks. Waver secretly prayed that they didn’t have to deal with that before the war ended; there was no way he could handle that type of stress on top of everything else.

Terrified, the teen shrank back, shaking his head. “It’s…fine…” he mumbled. “Go ahead.”

“Good lad.” Iskander patted him on his back. Each hit sounded like a cannon going off. Noticing Waver still watching, he gestured impatiently. “Come on!”

The line looked at him. Waver ducked his head slightly as he quickly hurried to Iskander’s side. Maybe he should start wearing disguises when they went out together. “That’s not how lines work.”

As usual, Iskander didn’t listen. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Waver’s back, forcing him forward and into the building. He didn’t know how waiting worked either. Waver groaned; he could never return to this place again.

“There is the game!” Iskander grinned as he made a beeline to the new arrivals display. Sitting on it was _Admirable Tactics Five: The Hope of Fight Pilot Sophia._ The case looked silly in his big hands, but he was oddly gentle. “And there are so many of it!”

“That’s how companies make their money.” Waver tried not to laugh at his shocked expression. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he’d come from the past, what with all the knowledge the grail gave him. Yet, at times like these, it was all too obvious that this wasn’t his home. “They sell as many copies as possible.”

“Even our libraries could not produce so many tomes.” Iskander glanced around, noticing the shelves of different games now. “Are these all games?”

“Yes…” Waver trailed off, immediately guessing just where this was heading. In many ways, Iskander was like a child: extremely straightforward and honest about his desires. “We’re only here for Admirable Tactics.”

Humming to himself, Iskander shifted through the shelves, picking up every genre from rpgs to first person shooters. Either he hadn’t heard Waver or he didn’t care. The end result would be the same.

“Fine but limit yourself to like three.” Hunching over slightly, Waver followed, looking idly at the latest releases. There was a new _Tales of_ , though it was still in pre-orders only. Next to it was the latest _Fire Emblem_. And beside it—

Waver looked down and groaned. Just when had he grabbed all of those cases? It was supposed to be just one, maybe two, and now he had like twenty in his arms. There was absolutely no way he could buy that many, let alone even have time to play them all.

Maybe he shouldn’t have chided Iskander earlier. Clearly, his self-control was just as bad or worse. Discretely, he dumped the pile into a basket and scurried away before an angry employee noticed just how much work he’d left them. Looking up, he scanned the rows for his Servant. “Iskander?”

Luckily, it was impossible for Iskander to hide his big frame. Even when he bent over, he was still a head above the racks. “Waver! We will also get this!”

“What did you pick?” Coming closer, Waver swiped the game out of his hands. “ _Steamy hotsprings—_ ”

Immediately, he flushed a bright red and dropped the case like it was cursed. “What—that— _what are you trying to play, you idiot?_ ” he screeched.

Iskander furrowed his brow, staring at the fallen case. “A game.” Clicking his tongue, he picked up another one. “Try not to drop this one.”

Waver stepped back, refusing to touch the thing. The clerk was looking at them funny and he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Do you know what that game is?”

“Of course.” Iskander looked at him pityingly. Pointing at the cover (graced with several busty women that Waver was certain couldn’t be anatomically correct), he explained slowly, “This is game where you conquer people! What better game is there for a king?” He guffawed. “Truly, there is a game for everything!”

“Conquering…people…” Waver tried not to stumble back. “You’re not wrong…but you’re not right either…” What if any of his associates found out he had bought that game? What if they found the case in his things in a few months? At least with the other games he could claim he was practicing tactics or something, but a harem game?

_A hentai harem game?_

“No, we’re not buying it.” Waver stomped his foot. He probably looked as intimidating as a rabbit, but he glared at Iskander. “We’re not getting that or any like that.”

“Hmm?” Iskander cocked his head in one direction, then the other. After stroking his chin a few times, he grinned, and Waver knew that whatever inane idea had entered his mind was utterly wrong. Chuckling, he reached forward and ruffled Waver’s short hair. “There is no need to feel jealous.”

“ _Jealous?_ ” he squawked, his arms hanging limply at his side as his hair started to resemble a porcupine from all the rubbing.

“I am only conquering them.” Iskander winked. “You are more than a trophy.”

“I—that’s…” Waver clawed the air, unable to find the words to explain exactly how un-jealous he was, how fine he was with the whole thing, and _what did Iskander even mean by trophy?_

Iskander added, smirking, “Our bond is deeper than that.”

From the corner of his eyes, Waver spotted the curious cashiers leaning closer, trying to listen in on the conversation. If he let this last longer than it already had, the entire town would know. If they didn’t already know. Iskander was loud and unashamed and Waver wouldn’t be surprised to hear he had told every person he’d met.

“Fine!” Waver growled, swiping the stupid case and marching to the counter. “We’ll get that and nothing else.”

“I knew you’d like it!” Iskander patted him on the back again.

“I do not—” Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he cut himself off. There was no point in arguing with Iskander. He had learned that already. Slamming the case on the counter, he barked, “I’ll buy these two.”

A middle-aged woman, she blinked in surprise before nodding. “Would you like—”

“No!” He scowled, daring her to ask another question.

Fortunately, she picked up his irritation. “Okay, no insurance then, no points card—”

“That…” Sheepishly, he slid his points card on the counter. “I have that.”

She gave him a look before accepting it. “Alright then.”

When she picked up the harem game, she didn’t react. Perhaps because she worked here, selling it in the first place. That didn’t stop him from flushing either way, his neck and ears warm as he imagined what she was thinking. Fortunately, the transaction was quick. He slid the money over while his dignity was still somewhat intact.

Handing over the bag, she bowed. “Have a good day.”

“You too,” he mumbled, clutching the bag to his chest as he slowly inched away. The plastic felt thick. Maybe no one would notice what was inside. His head bumped into Iskander’s chest and he froze.

“You make a cute couple,” she added as she waved.

“Couple?!” Waver jerked his head up, not sure if he heard right.

“A handsome couple,” Iskander corrected, wrapping an arm around Waver and pulling him close.

Part of him was pleased. A bigger part of him flushed a bright red and he cried, “But we’ve only started dating!”

“And?” Iskander looked down, confused.

“It’s…it’s too soon…” Waver flushed before sprinting out. Between this and the stupid game, he couldn’t handle anymore of this.


End file.
